Storylines:
Third place in the Big 12 is on the line. Baylor has already clinched at
least a share of third, but Iowa State can join the Bears at 12-6 and
steal the No. 3 seed in the Big 12 tournament with a win. Baylor has won
three straight since a min-slump from Feb. 8-18. The Cyclones are one
fire with three wins in their last four games. The one loss, 78-72 on
Thursday, ISU led No. 8 Missouri more than half of the game in the loss.

Keys:
Baylor shot 60 percent from the field (33-for-55) in a 79-64 win over
Iowa State on Feb. 13. Jones had 18 points and seven boards in the
triumph.

Both teams
have explosive offenses. The Bears rank third in the Big 12 with 74.5
points per game. ISU is fifth at 73.2. Baylor leads the Big 12 in
3-point shooting at 39.1 percent, while the Cyclones are second at 38.3
percent. Led by Christopherson, who is shooting 52.2 percent from the
3-point line in league play, Iowa State has made 275 3-pointers this
season, five from the school record. Baylor is the second-best free
throw shooting team in the league at 74.6 percent, while White and the
cyclones have struggled at 67.6 percent. Baylor shoots 47.7 percent from
the floor, while ISU shoot 44.9 percent. Iowa State gives up the
second-highest field goal percentage in the conference at 43.9 percent,
but the Cyclones feature the league’s best 3-point defense, allowing
opponents to shoot just 30.3 percent. With a win, the Bears would have
26 regular-season victories, the most in school history. Their 12 Big 12
wins is the most in program history. Saturday is the 22nd
meeting between the Bears and Cyclones. ISU leads the all-time series
12-9 and has never lost to the Bears in Ames. Baylor is an impressive
7-2 in true road games and 10-2 away from home this season. ISU is 15-2
at Hilton this season and has won six in a row at home.

The Bottom
Line:
Baylor’s consistency is a concern, but the Bears are just so much more
talented than the Cyclones.